Author Archives: Evan Wyloge and Hank Stephenson

The 2014 Navajo Nation presidential election has been rocked over a requirement that presidential candidates speak the Navajo language fluently. Chris Deschene, one of the two general election nominees, has been challenged for his admittedly limited language proficiency. In recent weeks, attention to it — and voter rolls — on the Navajo Reservation has grown.

Shortly after midnight last night, the Navajo Nation Council voted to scrap the longstanding requirement for the tribe’s president to be fluent in the Navajo Language.
The eleventh-hour vote, approved 11-10 with one abstaining, clears a path for Chris Deschene to remain on the ballot. His qualifications had been challenged over his admittedly limited ability in speaking the Navajo language.

Lobbying reports show how much was spent, who spent it, but not necessarily who was being courted

The Arizona Capitol Times obtained the electronic quarterly lobbying reports for the first quarter of 2013 under the state’s public records laws, analyzed the expenditures across hundreds of transactions and interviewed many of those involved in the spending.

From lobbyists to lawmakers to advocacy groups, reactions to flaws in Arizona lobbying reports reflect an image of a system that needs to be improved.

Some proposals for how to improve the system have emerged, but any agreement on the solutions, not to mention the political will to enact them, still eludes lawmakers two years after the Fiesta Bowl lobbying scandal roped in dozens of politicians, top bowl officials and a handful of lobbyists.